In a Division II-AA East/Middle basketball rematch between Baylor's Lady Red Raiders and the GPS Bruisers, the narrative remained unchanged from the meeting three weeks earlier.
Baylor again set the tone early with defense in a 61-34 victory.
The Lady Red Raiders smothered GPS ball-handlers all game long, forcing turnover after turnover. Those turnovers often turned into easy buckets in transition for Baylor (12-12).
"We did a good job pushing the ball down the floor tonight," Baylor coach John Gibson said. "We've been working on pushing the ball down the floor and getting a lot of opportunities in transition."
In addition to defense, Baylor relentlessly rebounded.
"We defend and rebound. If you look at what we've done this year, we've done those things most consistently every night," Gibson said.
The Bruisers (14-15) played a zone defense that did a good job forcing tough shots early on, but they were unable to take advantage.
"We just didn't do a good job of rebounding in the first half," GPS coach Wes Moore said.
Baylor led 15-7 after one quarter and used a 20-0 run starting in the first period to take a 30-9 margin into halftime. Some Lady Raiders offensive rebounds turned into Mya Long 3-pointers. She had 12 points in the spurt and added 17 in the second half, finishing with 29.
"They shot the ball well in the first half and made a few 3s to bust it open," Moore said.
"That's just a result of the offense," Gibson said. "We have to get into gaps and move the basketball and try to create numbers, and she just happened to be the one that was getting the opportunities. She made the most of them."
Brooke McCurdy is normally the focal point of the Bruisers offense, but Baylor focused most of its defensive attention on her, trying to keep her from getting hot. She totaled four points.
"We just didn't shoot the ball very well tonight," Moore said.
GPS scored 25 of its 34 points in the second half, as Mackenzie Jennings led the way with 11, all after halftime. Lindsey Wyatt added 10.
Raegyn Conley scored 10 for the Lady Red Raiders.
Both teams will have postseason road games Tuesday, Baylor at Pope John Paul II and GPS at Harpeth Hall.
Contact Ted Bryant at sports@timesfreepress.com